My name is Dean Gibson, and I am a transmasculine person who has been transitioning since mid-2014. The next step in my transition is phalloplasty, also known as one type of “bottom surgery”. I currently work in animal husbandry, and while I enjoy working with animals, I am finding myself unable to save up the necessary amount in the time frame I need to get this surgery.

I have asked for $11,000 to account for the transaction fees associated with GoFundMe and the costs I am unable to cover. A cost breakdown is at the end.

These surgeries will improve my life immensely. I feel constant dysphoria regarding the current state of my body, and these surgeries would be the final step in my physical transition. The distress it causes keeps me from enjoying things and going out. I am constantly paranoid in locker room situations, which for me is every day due to my job requiring we wear scrubs that don’t leave the facility. I would like to exist in the world without discomfort or fear over my differences from the other men in the locker rooms or similar environments.

Phalloplasty in particular is my final goal, and it is a very involved and intense series of procedures. I have consulted with a few surgeons to find the best fit and have decided on the team in San Francisco that consists of Dr. Chen and surgeons from the Buncke clinic. Because of the intricate nature of this surgery, there are specialists from both urology (Dr. Chen) and plastic surgery (The Buncke clinic) involved.

When I created this GoFundMe, my initial goal was to complete surgery by the time I aged off of my dad’s insurance plan. I did not have coverage through my state job. However, through a series of lawsuits, currently my insurance is required to consider the medical necessity of gender-affirming care. However, there are still appeals in the works, and I do not know for sure how long this coverage will be granted, which is why time is still of the essence. Without insurance coverage, I would not be able to get phalloplasty due to the cost of the procedures. Phalloplasty is important to my quality of life and I am simply unable to make this happen alone.

This is a very intense procedure, and I will go into detail with anyone who wants to know more (feel free to reach out to me or ask a mutual connection to get us in touch), but I will outline the basics.

This is a 3 stage procedure with this surgical team. These stages can vary slightly based on each individual patient and what they discover during surgery, but in most cases, stage 1 is the most intense and consists of the creation of the new genitalia. It may include the closure of the old genitalia but in my case, that may be shifted to stage 2. Stage 2 also consists of urethral work. Stage 3 consists primarily of implants.

My current timeline is as follows:

Hysterectomy completed September 10, 2021: I have now officially paid this expense, with help from this GoFundMe.

March 2022: Consult with Chen/Buncke

I originally had a consult scheduled with Chen and the Buncke clinic way out in February 2024, however, I am lucky and this got bumped up to March 2022. This consult determined that I am going to be attempting to move forward with Chen and the Buncke clinic, instead of other surgeons’ teams I considered and consulted with.

March 2022 until close to surgery date: Electrolysis

Electrolysis is vital to the success of this surgery. The skin used for the urethral portion must be hairless to avoid future complications. This requires permanent hair removal, which can take 12 months or so. I attempted laser hair removal, however, my hair is not a good candidate for that and saw little progress, so I began electrolysis approximately 1 hour a week in July 2022, and will continue as long as possible. Outside of the urethral portion, the rest of the skin used for surgery will still receive electrolysis, but this is less vital to the complication rates, so I am focusing on the urethral portion. Electrolysis with my provider is $95/hr and I typically do an hour a week.

Unfortunately, my FSA explicitly excludes electrolysis, and working with insurance for coverage of it has been difficult, so I expect to spend at least $1000-1500 more on electrolysis by my surgery date.

September 2023:

This is currently when my surgery is planned. I am in the final stages of finalizing this date with the team (insurance approval, making sure hair removal is sufficient, etc.)

COSTS:

Insurance:

Previously, my state health plan through my work did not cover this. Currently, I am operating with the assumption that coverage will still be in place at the time of surgery. My out-of-pocket maximum is $4890 for the year, and I expect to pay the entire portion of this due to the significant costs of the procedure.

Time off work and travel:

Lodging: I will likely be staying in an Airbnb due to the length of time I will be recovering in the area (~5 weeks). This will allow privacy for both me and my caretakers, and some options offer a discount for stays over 30 days which will help save money. I am expecting to spend around $5000-6000 on this.

Flights: The most likely flights will be on Delta Airlines. To save money, I will be looking at economy flights to San Francisco, however, due to the nature of the surgery and the length of the flights across the country, will be going with comfort+ or better on the flights home. Thankfully Delta allows this type of split itinerary. For me alone, flights will likely be somewhere around $1000, depending on availability and when I finally purchase the tickets.

Time Off Work: I have a significant portion of PTO saved, as well as my work offering a ‘shared leave’ program for employees who are out for long periods due to health. In the best-case scenario, my pay while off work will be of little concern. However, if necessary near the end of recovery, I do have options for receiving partial pay.

Current Savings:

A large portion of the funds I have previously received has been used for my hysterectomy and electrolysis. I have approximately $300 left over from that, which will likely be used toward electrolysis.

Overall Expected Costs:

Surgery: $4,890 (Current out-of-pocket maximum with my insurance)

Electrolysis: $1,500

Flights: $1,000 for just me (Though I’d like to pay for or help with the flights of caretakers as well if I can)

Lodging: $6,000

I do have the full allowable amount committed to my FSA account this year plus a rollover from last year. Therefore I will hopefully have about $3,000 towards that out-of-pocket through my FSA, making my surgery costs expected to be around $1,890.

I have also been able to cover my electrolysis up until this point reasonably well, however, it has limited my ability to save any additional money.

All that considered, I am primarily asking for help with the flights and lodging- $7,000.

With the $3,000 previously donated towards my hysterectomy, and a buffer amount to cover the transaction fees of donations, my goal is $11,000. Any additional money will go towards costs such as supplies, caretaker flights, and the surgery copay itself.

I also have an Amazon Wishlist of recovery supplies, so if you would like to assist in that manner, feel free! Click Here for Wishlist!

As things progress, I will continue to update this page and the goal amounts.

Thank you so much for your support! I appreciate everything and anything helps, even just a share!